India vs Bangladesh First ODI at Mirpur

India Bangladesh first ODI: Dhoni wins it for India

May 10, 2007

Mahendra Dhoni braved a thigh injury to fire an unbeaten 93 and lead India to a five-wicket win in the first match of their one-day series versus Bangladesh. The wicket-keeper came to the crease with India on 35, and when they slipped to 112-4 the tourists were in trouble.
But Dhoni's fine rearguard action with Dinesh Karthik (58no) led them past the target of 251 with six balls to spare.
Earlier, Javed Omar's 80 had helped the Tigers to 250-7 in a match reduced to 47 overs per side because of rain.
The home side won the toss and chose to bat, and were given a flying start by Tamim Iqbal, who showed little respect to Zaheer Khan, who conceded 33 from five overs with the new ball.

India Bangladesh first ODI delayed due to rain

May 10, 2007

The first ODI between India and Bangladesh at Mirpur will witness a delayed start due to morning rains.
Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar has won the toss and decided to bat first.
Fresh reports suggested that rain has stopped and the stadium has been engulfed by bright sunshine.
The pitch promises a lot of runs as experts feel that scores in excess of 260 can be expected on the placid wicket at Mirpur.
The team think-tank believes in opening the innings with Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.

India, Bangladesh motivated ahead of first cricket one-dayer

May 10, 2007

India is desperate to redeem itself after tumbling out of the first round of the cricket World Cup, while Bangladesh wants a repeat of the win that helped eliminate its subcontinental neighbour when the two teams meet Thursday in the first of three limited-over cricket internationals.
Bangladesh made it to the Super 8s stage in the just concluded World Cup in the Caribbean after beating former champion India and No. 1 team South Africa.
"I think the selectors and the team are pretty focused on correcting things after what happened in the World Cup. I do not think that anyone now considers Bangladesh as minnows or easy opposition," India captain Rahul Dravid said Wednesday.
"Everyone knows that they have to play really well to beat Bangladesh, especially at home. We got some good players who can cope with this condition and put up a good performance," Dravid added.
Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar, meanwhile, knows there are now higher expectations on the team.
"We are aware that the expectations will be much higher this time. We are preparing ourselves according to that," Bashar said. "We want to play our own brand of cricket. It is really up to them (India) how they take this series. But definitely, I would love to win it."
Injured middle order batsman Manoj Tiwary will be missing from India's 12-member squad, while Bangladesh's ace paceman Mashrafe bin Mortaza is also in doubt for Thursday's game.
"Tiwary will not be available for us in the one-day series because of the unfortunate injury. It is really sad for him, and also disappointing from the team," Dravid said.
Tiwary, who hurt his shoulder in practice Tuesday, was expected to make his limited-overs international debut at Dhaka.
Mortaza's back injury, meanwhile, delayed Bangladesh's team selection.
"Mashrafe is a special player. So, it is a worry for us whether he can make it in the final eleven tomorrow," Bashar said. "But our backup players are also not bad. That's one of the reasons for our recent success."
Both sides are due to announce their final lineups before the start of the game Thursday at Dhaka's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, which both captains believe is likely to offer some turn for their bowlers.
"We played a practice match in this wicket. I noticed that the bounce was a bit low and there was also some turn," Bashar said.
The teams practised Wednesday, although sudden rains briefly disrupted the end of their sessions.
The second and third one-dayers will be played May 12 and 15, while the two Test matches will be held from May 18 and 25.
India last toured Bangladesh in December 2004, when the hosts registered their first ever limited-overs international win on home ground, beating their more fancied neighbours by 15 runs in one of the matches.
India team (from): Rahul Dravid (c), Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Dinesh Karthick, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan, Rudra Pratap Singh, Piyush Chawla, Ramesh Powar.
Bangladesh team (from): Habibul Bashar (c), Mohammad Ashraful, Javed Omar, Tamim Iqbal, Shahriar Nafees, Aftab Ahmed, Saqibul Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mashrafe Mortaza, Syed Rasel, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Mohammad Rafique, Farhad Reza.